Washington State’s Black History: Frank D. Waldron and Seattle’s Jazz Scene
All month, we’ll be partnering with The Black Heritage Society of Washington State to bring you artifacts, photos and stories from our community’s history.
Frank Waldron (1890-1955) was a musician and teacher who was significantly influential in the first half of Seattle’s early jazz scene. He was an outstanding saxophonist and trumpeter and was known for his instructional techniques.
Waldron played in various bands including the Wang Doodle Orchestra and the Odean Jazz Orchestra. He opened The Waldron School of Trumpet and Saxophone in 1919 at the intersection of S Jackson St and Boren Ave S. Among Waldron’s students over the years were Buddy Catlett, Jabo Ward, and Quincy Jones. In 1924 he published Syncopated Classic, an instructional book featuring advanced saxophone techniques. Waldron’s compositions were lost with time. Musician Greg Ruby retrieved and painstakingly notated what had never been recorded as a tribute to the innovation and legacy of Frank Waldron. Greg Ruby and The Rhythm Runners recorded Seattle’s Syncopated Classic in 2017.
Donor Greg Ruby describes how the tray was found.
“The Waldron’s Saxophone Quartett tray was rescued from a basement at a home just seven houses away from Waldron’s Central District residence on 15th Ave in 1991, 36 years after Waldron’s death. Ruby was sharing his research about Waldron and a contractor who was working to clear the house told Ruby that he was compelled to save the tray with the Waldron detail not knowing its history but…it just appealed to him. Who painted it is unknown, and the why and how it got seven houses away from Waldron’s remains a mystery.” The tray was donated to BHS in 2017.
